Not because he gets in the way. Actually, he’s quite an efficient person himself, so that’s pretty much never the issue. It’s just that he has his priorities straight, even when I don’t.

Beauty has taken to delaying her nap until mid-afternoon, which thoroughly throws off my schedule. (She’s sleeping the same amount of time, so you’d think I would get the same amount done, but it doesn’t seem to work that way.) So when Hero called to say he was coming home, I felt like I hadn’t accomplished anything all day, and I was feeling more than usually guilty over my lack of housekeeping talent because my sister had been teasing me about it over the weekend. She wasn’t trying to be mean or anything; it’s just a sore spot for me.

So as I’m on the phone, listing all the chores I ought to be doing and possible dinner options, Hero cuts me off: “have you done any art today? Because I think that should come first.”

Like I said, how am I supposed to keep the house in immaculate order with him around?

But he was right. I did need to do something creative and relaxing. So I painted a couple of index cards and then folded the laundry while watching Harry Dresden take down a werewolf. Dinner turned out fine (I cooked up some ramen noodles, then drained them and added some frozen veggies and a little cooked chicken, and mixed in a thai curry sauce and coconut milk for a simple laksa) and the dishes got done eventually and even if they hadn’t? It would have been okay.

I’m so glad I have Hero around to remind me to relax. If he’s happy and I’m happy and everyone is healthy, then I have done all I need to do. (I may have done all I need to do even if those things aren’t true, but that’s another story.)

It’s not like I’d want to live in an immaculate house anyway. I’d get paint everywhere.